Chapter 6

Brad walked along the curved hallway and into the dressing room. As soon as the players saw him, they all went to their knees and bowed to him. “Praise be to the all-mighty goal scorer!” Dale spoke as if worshipping him.

“Come on guys, quit kidding around,” Brad smiled.

“What do you expect? We witnessed hockey history being made, and we were all part of it,” Dale justified.

“I didn’t score any of my goals all by myself,” he defended.

“We know we’re joking with you, Brad, but you’ll have to admit this was a night none of us will forget for a long time,” Jake added.

“I had a night like Darryl Sittler did for the Toronto Maple Leafs when he scored six goals and four assists against Boston,” Brad compared.

Rob St. Cyr came into the room with his camera. “We need to capture this moment for prosperity.” He handed Brad his puck with ‘1st OHL goal vs. King P.S. 2:27’ printed on white tape around the circumference. He posed with the puck and his hockey stick.

Brad held the puck and smiled while holding up one finger, and several pictures were taken. Other players also took out their cell phones and took pictures of him. Next came the puck for his first hat trick. Then came the puck for his second hat trick, tying the record for a rookie.

“Hey, this isn’t just all about me; it was a team victory. I bet we set several new team records tonight.” The players soon added themselves to the pictures.

The list grew with more pictures of the OHL record-setting seventh goal and eleventh point, then his CHL eighth tying goal, then his CHL record ninth and third hat trick goals. Rob had Brad hold nine pucks to signify his goal total and thirteen for total points. He finished the photoshoot with a large team photo centred on a smiling Brad.

Each player shook his hand or patted his back. Rob handed him a black felt pen and had him autograph his hockey stick and a spare hockey jersey. “The Hockey Hall of Fame will have to add another section just for you, Brad!” Dale joked, and they laughed.

“I doubt that, but just as long as all the pictures have my teammates and coaches in them.”

Coach Stanton and Benson congratulated Brad on his historic night and were soon joined by General Manager Peterson, who offered his thoughts.

“Coach, I know Brad is a rookie, but will you tell him to stop picking up the pucks from the net after the warm-ups? He was our Coach and is our Assistant captain, and he shouldn’t be expected to do that?” Jake asked.

Frank looked at the other players, and they all agreed. “Brad, it seems you’ve been promoted by your peers.”

Coach Stanton clapped his hands loudly for attention. Okay, you guys, that’s enough for the glory of tonight’s game; now back to business! We were lucky to beat Kingston tonight. It isn’t very often that a team lets in seven goals and still wins the game. Forwards, you have to support your D-men more! And on defence, you have to clear those rebounds for Jason and Sam. Four of their seven came from rebounds!”

“Good game tonight, but expect Kingston to come out hitting hard. No team likes to lose by a score like tonight’s, so be prepared for a harder battle!” Coach Benson cautioned.”With a four o’clock start tomorrow, there will be no practice in the morning,” and the players cheered. “Go home and get a good night’s sleep.”

The staff left the players to shower and change, then prepared for the next game.

Fans seated in the vicinity of Dan and Karen congratulated them on Brad’s historic game. The family made its way to the main level, where they met Scott and Vicky.

“Dan, I wouldn’t have believed Brad’s game if I hadn’t seen it myself. You both must be very proud of him, and I’ll admit that I am too.”

“Thank you, Scott; we certainly are.” Dan smiled, accepting Scott’s hand to shake.

“At least he and Pete didn’t fight,” Vicky said, and they laughed.

“My face hurts from smiling so much, and my voice hurts from cheering so loud and long,” Abby added.

“And we get to do it again tomorrow,” Karen mentioned.

The group made their way to the lower level to wait for their boys. A crowd of eager young fans had gathered at the cordoned-off area, awaiting their favourite players for autographs and pictures.

Most of the other adults were billet families for the Falcon players, living away from home and waiting for their players to appear.Â

Coach Green of the Frontenacs had several choice words for his team. At the same time as berating their poor play, he had to recognize the outstanding effort of Brad Hayward. “Like it or not, we witnessed hockey history tonight. But don’t let him do it again to us!”

The Kingston players were the first to make an appearance. Most had that sullen, don’t look or talk to me expression on their faces. It was bad enough to lose to the home team, but they were embarrassed by their lopsided loss.

“There he is!” Abby beamed at seeing her brother. She hurried to greet Peter, and her embrace was welcomed. “You played a great game, Pete, and thank you for not fighting with Brad.”

“You’re welcome, Sis. We played quite a lot against each other, and I couldn’t afford to be benched again.” They went to join their parents, and he was congratulated on his game.

Abby wanted to boast so much about Brad’s heroic game but thought better of it. However, she had already texted her brother Derek that Brad’s team had won their game and how many goals and points he had scored.

“Brad played a good game,” Pete mentioned as if able to read her mind.

“A good game?!” She exclaimed, then thought again. Yes, he did have a good game.”

Pete accepted the hugs and kisses from Scott and Vicky. “Coach Green says I can spend the night at home and have to be back at the rink for two thirty,” Pete mentioned to his dad.

“That’s good; we can go out for a light meal after Brad and Jake arrive,” Scott said.

“Do we have to wait for them?” Pete complained.

“Yes, we do. The same as if you were playing them in Kingston. Our families are interconnected now because of Abby and your hockey against Brad and Jake. Nobody likes a sore loser but admires a person who is gracious in defeat. It’ll be good having you home, even for just a few hours,” Scott mentioned, hugging his son.

Abby recognized several of the Falcon players walking towards the exit and knew Brad would be there soon. Fans asked for autographs and pictures from different players as they met their billet families and walked towards the exit doors.